Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1887-07-07
WONDERFUL AUTOMATIC.
Jacques vaucanson's Achievements ant
Maetxcl's Trumpeter. f

Jacques vaucanson's Achievements and
Maetxel's Trumpeter.
The king Of automatic constructors
was Jaques Vaucanson. born at Greno-
BILE in 1909. While quite boy he made
several self-moving figures The bent
Of his mind was determined by rath-
er peculiar circumstance. Being to
himself in the house of a friend to
which he went with his mother, he per-
eeiyed through the crack Of partition
an old clock with slowly swinging
pendulum, which excited his attention.
Next time he visited this house ho had
pencil and paper with him. and mado
. rough sketch Of the clock. BY earnest
study and investigation he succeeded
in making clock of his own out Of
pieces Of wood. and his wooden clock
kept time fairly we'll. Then began his
experiments with automata. He mado
wooden chapel. with moving figures
of priests. He invented hydraulic
machine for tho city of Lyons, and
later. in the same place. per-
fected q machine for silk weaving
that caused the work people
to rise against him In arms.
His first great achievement in auto.
mata was his tlute-player, which was
one Of the wonders Of his time. He
had been Ill, and made il during his
convalescencc. The several parts of
il were made by different workmen to
prevent its discovery. Only n faithful
servant aided him in his secret. Ac-
cording to d. Alembert the remarkable
figure stood on pedestal, in which a
portion of mechanism was concealed,
and tho player not only blew into tho
instrument. but with its lips increased
or diminished the sound. performing
the lcgato and staccato passages with
perfection, and lingering with COM
plete accuracy. 1t was exhibited in
Paris In 1888 and made a great sensa-
ton. Vaucanson next made flage-
olet-player, and later mechanical
duck, which waddled, swan. dived
and quacked, and like De Gennes'
peacock, picking up and swallowing
its food He was engage on an end
less chain whom he died. Ho willed
all his automata to tho King.
Maetzel, the inventor Of tho Metro
nomo and OF several musical automata,
opened an exhibition in Vienna, In 1909.
with o life-size automaton trumpeter
as tho chief attraction. When tho
audience entered all they saw was q
tent After time tho curtains parted.
and Maetzel appeared leading forward
q trumpcter in tho full rcgimcntals Of
an Austrian dragoon. BY pressing tho
left epaulct Of the figure he made it
play cavalry calls and a march, and an
allegro by Weigl accompanied by n
full band Of living musicians. Nor
was this all. Tho figure retired and
reappeared rs trumpeter Of tho
French Guard Maetzel wound It up
on tho left hip. pressed once moro on
tho left cpaulet, and it played tho
French cavalry call. French cavalry
march. march by Dussek and ono Of
Hcycrs allegros, tho full band again
accompanying. W ~
Knauss exhibited ut Vienna an auto
maton that wrote, and tho Drozes.
father and son, constructed several
mechanical figures that both wrote and
played musical instruments. A pam
tomimo In five acts was performed by
q troupe of puppets in Paris in 1920.
and Bienfalt in 1746. got up q repre-
sentation Of 'Tho Bombardmcnt Of
Antwerp" by .automata. Another
piece performed by Boinfalt's auto
mata, which he called comcdiens prac-
ticiens, was Tho Grand Assault Of
Berg-op-Zoom. Isl Louis Globe
Democrat rrf